When striker Neal Maupay joined Everton in 2022, there were plenty of questions about whether or not he was a good fit for a side that needed goals in order to avoid another relegation scrap.
His first year in Blue was underwhelming, to put it mildly, as he scored just once in 29 appearances (13 starts), with the underlying numbers suggesting it came down to poor finishing (his xG, according to FBref was 4.8 that season).
And so, after 118 minutes for Everton at the start of the 2023/24 campaign, he was loaned out to Brentford, a club he played (and dominated) for while in the Championship a few years earlier. In his return to the Bees, the Frenchman played nearly the same number of minutes and matches, but scored 6 goals on an xG of 5.7.
Maupay returned to Everton over the summer, but was loaned out again, this time to French club Marseille, where he hasn't played a ton (just over 1000 minutes so far), but has again successfully bagged four goal on an xG of 4.1.
On top of that, on social media, he was seen stirring things up against his parent club in December of last year. His post suggested that he enjoyed the Toffees' early-season struggles, which didn't garner positive reactions from Everton supporters.
So I don't think it will bring out much sadness for Everton fans to hear the news that Marseille are planning on buying Maupay from Everton (there was a €4 million obligation in the loan terms) and then look to "offload him" during the summer window, possibly to a Championship side.
The sale will come at a big loss for Everton, who reportedly spent £15 million on him a few years ago, but it is a move that needs to be made. It's a clear "cut your losses" situation for the club.
The search is on for ways to bolster the center forward position for Everton, but Neal Maupay will not be one of those solutions.